The Girl in the Gardens
by Corinna McDonald
Summary: Booth and Bones find a girl in the National Botanical Gardens. Definitely BoothBrennan. PG13 for language.


A/N: Alright, I know the jurisdiction is tenuous at best, but I couldn't think of a logical way to insert any clear FBI jurisdiction, so roll with it because we loves us our Bones. And please just bear with me while I get the storyline set up, and then I promise that the story logic won't be as screwy. And we'll actually see our Bones crew. Also, not mine to the nth degree. I don't even own the DVDs. I'm that broke. Reviews and concrits are always welcome, flames will be used for…well…absolutely nothing. Flames will be super-ignored.

PROLOGUE

Taylor Daniels couldn't help but feel like she was being followed. It didn't help that she'd stupidly left her car at the far end of the parking lot. Taylor's heart jumped as one of the big parking lot lights flickered weakly and faded to black. She folded her hand into a fist with her car keys sticking out from between her first and second finger.

Taylor reached her car unharmed and, feeling like a total moron, checked underneath the car and in the backseat. No one was lurking in or underneath her car. As soon as she stuck the key into the lock to unlock her car, a hand clasped over her shoulder. Taylor let out a bloodcurdling scream before thrusting her elbow back, catching her would-be attacker in the groin.

"Ow, Taylor it's me!" Taylor's lab partner and more-than-good-friend Ryan Davidson wheezed. "Son of a bitch you have sharp elbows."

As soon as Taylor's breathing returned to normal, she whacked Ryan on the shoulder. "You moron! What in the Hell would possess you to surprise a girl in a dark corner of a parking lot at night?" She shouted.

"What in the Hell would possess you to park in such a dipshit parking spot?" Ryan retorted.

"I was late for school. This was the first parking spot I could grab to avoid being late to first period. You know that Mr. Reid has a fit if we're late. I didn't have a chance to move my car."

"Lunch."

"Emergency newspaper meeting."

"After school."

"Mr. Frye was having a major meltdown over the damned layout. I don't know what I was thinking when I said I wanted to be editor-in-chief."

"You make a good EIC."

"Well, thank you very much, but sometimes I wish I was just a staff writer."

"You deserve to be EIC and you've made the paper actually decently readable this year." Ryan leaned against the car. "So, are your parents still out of town?"

"They're gone until the 18th and – no. Absolutely not. No way, Ryan. I promised my parents that I wouldn't have anyone except Lucy over while they were gone."

"What, are you worried about your virtue? Because that ship sailed a long-ass time ago."

"Quit being a dick. Besides, I have to get studying done or my GPA is going to be toast. And if my GPA sinks, so do my chances of getting into Georgetown."

"First of all, you're not going to fail the test tomorrow. You're a total genius. You've skipped two grades at one of the most competitive schools in D.C. Second of all, why do you automatically assume that I'm asking you to hang out so we can have sex?"

Taylor arched an eyebrow. "Are you eighteen?"

"What? Of course."

"And are you male?"

"Taylor, have you suddenly gone blind and lost your mind? I am both eighteen and male."

"You just answered why I assume you were asking me to hang out with the intention of having sex."

"Taylor, you're the one who said that if you were going to get into Georgetown you didn't have time for a real relationship." Ryan frowned. "I wanted to actually be your boyfriend. The sex is nice, but that's not why I want to hang out. I enjoy being around you."

Taylor's expression softened. "What about your parents? Won't they notice that you're not at home?"

"If my father wasn't with his mistress and my mother wasn't drinking herself into a stupor, they might notice. God my family is such a cliché."

"You're the real cliché. Good-looking jock who is not only smart but wants to study acting? Go call the Disney channel."

"Bite me."

"Give me until nine-thirty and then we'll discuss it." Taylor flashed him a quick smile. "I suppose my parents won't find out. But no sex."

"Agreed." Ryan smiled at Taylor. "I meant to tell you that you looked really pretty today."

"See you at nine-thirty." Taylor gave Ryan a quick kiss.

BONESBONESBONESBONES

Taylor had never really noticed how big her house was. Every shadow seemed to chase her and each floorboard creaking convinced Taylor that there was someone lurking in a hidden corner of the Daniels' house. _Stupid Ryan. Fucking with my head._ Taylor pushed all thoughts of a stalker or home intruder out of her head and poured tomato sauce over the spaghetti on her plate. _Maybe I'll ask Ryan to stay over. I would feel better with someone else in the house._ Taylor opened the fridge to get some parmesan when the motion-activated backyard floodlights illuminated the backyard.

_It's just a cat. It's just a cat._ Taylor repeated, refusing to let herself be spooked. _You've just seen one too many episodes of CSI_. She couldn't resist confirming that there was nothing in the backyard though, and glanced outside. Taylor screamed bloody murder when she saw a hand cover one of the lights and then the backyard went dark. "Ohmygod, ohmygod." Taylor grabbed the kitchen phone and dialed Ryan's number.

"Taylor, hey. I was just about to –"

"Get over here right now." Taylor ordered.

"What? Taylor, are you okay?"

"Please just drive like Hell. I think there's someone in my backyard."

"Jesus Christ. Okay, lock the doors and don't stand near any windows and get that baseball bat I left at your house. When I get there I'll call to let you know I'm outside."

"Thank you." Ordinarily Taylor wouldn't have said anything, but with the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she blurted out what she'd been thinking for some time. "I love you Ryan."

"I love you too, Taylor." She could hear the swell of joy in his voice, but it was still tinged with worry. "But you should call the police and report what happened. I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Hurry."

BONESBONESBONES

Ryan had broken the speed limit by a fair ten or twenty miles in the two years he'd had his license. This was the first time he'd broken it by thirty miles. He threaded between the few cars on the freeway, racing for Taylor's house. Taylor was no crybaby. If she was panicking, there was probably something to legitimately panic about. Ryan pulled into the Daniels' driveway, noticing that there were no cop cars. _Must be nothing._ Ryan took a deep breath and dialed Taylor's number anyway. When she didn't answer, Ryan got worried. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered. _Where did she say the spare key was?_ Ryan racked his brain. He vaguely remembered Taylor telling him that the spare key was hidden in a fake rock under the azalea bush next to the porch. It took some hunting, but he found the key and opened the door. "Taylor?" He called out, moving through the front foyer into the dining room and kitchen. He checked the rec room in the basement before moving on to Taylor's bedroom. Nothing. "Oh, Jesus." Ryan paled. Taylor was nowhere to be found and she wouldn't have left her house, not if she thought there was someone prowling around her yard. Ryan fumbled for his phone, finally dialing 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" The operator was too calm for Ryan's liking. Didn't she realize that he was calling in because something was really wrong?

"My girlfriend's missing."

"Okay, how long has it been since she disappeared?" The operator didn't seem worried at all, which only agitated Ryan even more.

"I don't know, maybe an hour since I last talked to her."

"Sir, you have to wait 48 hours –"

"There was someone prowling around her backyard." Ryan interrupted the operator. "She called me because there was someone in her backyard and now she's missing. I don't have to wait 48 hours to know that she didn't just run away."

The operator gave a small sigh. "What was her name?"

"Taylor Daniels." Ryan gave the information that the operator requested, even though he couldn't be sure if Taylor was five four or five six, but he figured it didn't matter and averaged. They had to find her. Taylor was sixteen and on her way to becoming the best doctor that the greater Washington D.C. area had ever seen. She was only missing. Not dead.

He hoped.


End file.
